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He stands as still as a statue. “Are you okay?” he asks, his voice softer now, the intensity of the moment momentarily subdued.
I take a deep breath, knowing I’m far from okay.
Conscious that Cole came back.
And aware that I need answers.
I lift my chin. "What really happened between you and Ryan?"
Chapter9
Cole
Ryan and I crossed paths in our first year of high school. Our friendship had a rather odd dynamic: he was the outgoing rich kid, I was the loner with my fair share of family and financial issues. We got along fine throughout most of high school, hanging out, studying, and getting girls.
It was all fun until senior year when Ryan began experimenting as a rebellion against his controlling parents.
I stuck by his side because he had been there for my sister and me in ways I never expected. I thought I owed him, so I joined him in his escapades, believing it would be a short-lived phase. But things spiraled out of hand, and in the haze of the easy money those shady exchanges offered and my misplaced loyalty to Ryan, I failed to notice my own morals slipping away.
When college came around, I applied to the same places he did. I used to believe he helped because he genuinely cared, but soon enough, I found myself carrying the weight of our shared bad reputation. He made me the scapegoat and I wasn't even aware.
We ventured into smuggling drugs on campus, occasionally dealing with stolen cars…until we were caught. But while I received cold shoulders and sidelong glances from everyone, Ryan somehow remained unscathed with a clean reputation. Everyone adored good old Ryan. Even my girlfriend at the time left me for him, having learned about all my activities. It was painfully clear who had spilled the beans.
Gradually, our friendship began to deteriorate. I grew tired of the destructive lifestyle, the judgmental stares, the drugs, and the theft. It all started to feel…wrong. But when I confronted Ryan about it, he dismissed me, branding me as ungrateful—a label I feared most at the time. So despite everything, I stayed.
But the height of it, my breaking point, was the accident. Cheryl had always been into Ryan, despite my pleas for both of them to steer clear of each other. Even with my warning, Cheryl would come to visit our college using me as an excuse but I knew better.
She just had to visit on that day. She just had to come looking for Ryan.
He was drunk, drunker than Ryan himself usually permitted. I pleaded with him not to drive that day but he simply shrugged me off, as usual. I accompanied him to be safe but then he turned a right recklessly and crashed into Cheryl.
I’ve never seen him again since then.
“It was a blur of shattered glass, but I managed to climb out, only to find Cheryl on the ground laying motionless in the pool of her own...“ I pause before swallowing hard, the bile rising in my throat.
Her hand rests firmly but gently against my back. Her soft voice breaks through the suffocating silence, colored with empathy and understanding. “I can figure the rest out from there,” she murmurs. “I'm sorry you went through all that, Cole.”
I hum, the sound settling before it fades between us. “Deep down, I know I'm equally at fault but you know, seeing Ryan living his life so effortlessly with his incredible girlfriend... It felt like life was playing a cruel joke on me, while I struggled to piece mine together." A bitter chuckle escapes my lips, a reminder of the envy and resentment that gnawed at my insides whenever I glimpsed Ryan and Amber together, their happiness radiating like a beacon.
“Ex-girlfriend now feels like quite an upgrade actually,” Amber quips, a hint of amusement coloring her words.
We share a momentary burst of laughter. The sound reverberates through the air, mingling with the weight of everything I just shared. In an instant, the tension eases, and a flicker of lightness dances between us.
A warmth blossoms within me, fueled by the sheer amazement that I’m back in Amber's presence. That she heard my story and is still here. I steal a glance at her, the soft curve of her lips and the twinkle in her eyes, and a realization settles within me—my plan to kidnap her may have unintentionally led me to the most rewarding connection I've ever felt.
Amber possesses a captivating beauty, both inside and out. Her charm is undeniable, drawing people to her effortlessly. But it's her unwavering empathy that truly sets her apart. She radiates a light that touches the depths of my being. She embodies everything I’m not.
Maybe, that's why her presence stirs a deep longing within me.
The desire to kiss her, hold her in my arms, to somehow find something right in this chain of wrong decisions, is overwhelming. It's an urge born not just from the physical attraction I feel for her, but from a profound need to cherish her.
Because I’m in love with Amber Schapiro.
Probably have been for a long time.
She tilts her head slightly, her eyes locking with mine, their sparkle revealing a hint of curiosity. She must see something because her cheeks flush as she shoots to her feet. “Did you want something to drink? I could get you some water?"
Reacting without thinking, I reach out and seize her hand, the motion swift and purely impulsive. It surprises both of us, catching me off guard with its intensity.
